The Brooklyn Law School community mourns the loss of Professor Emeritus
Richard T. Farrell ’64, a popular member of the faculty for more
than 50 years. Farrell died at the age of 80 on February 7.
Born in Brooklyn in 1937, Farrell joined the faculty upon graduation from
the Law School in 1964. He was a fixture at the Law School teaching Evidence
and New York Civil Practice for a half-century until his retirement in
2014. He served as clerk to Court of Appeals Judge John F. Scileppi from
1965 to 1967 during a short leave from the Law School.
Farrell was a leading authority on the New York Civil Practice Law and
Rules and was the author of
Prince, Richardson on Evidence, (11th ed. and 12th ed.) and annual supplements, the preeminent text on
the New York Law of Evidence. This treatise is in virtually every courtroom
in New York State, and it continues to be one of the most-cited texts
in the New York courts.
Farrell argued more than three dozen cases before the New York State Court
of Appeals and numerous appeals before the U.S. Supreme Court. He represented
the prevailing party at the U.S. Supreme Court in
Morales v New York (1969), a Fourth Amendment case in which the Court overturned a decision
by the New York Court of Appeals because a confession may have been the
product of an illegal detention; and
Grady v Corbin (1990), in which the Court ruled that the Fifth Amendment's double
jeopardy clause did not permit prosecution for vehicular homicide after
the defendant had pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated.
Revered by generations of Brooklyn Law School students, Farrell was known
for his “lifetime guarantee”— his frequently accepted
invitation to all his students to consult him “anytime, anywhere”
if they thought he could help them solve some legal problem. For his many
contributions to legal education, the Law School honored him with the
Wilbur A. Levin Award as Distinguished Service Professor of Law in 2005
and as an Icon of Brooklyn Law School in 2015.
“Dick Farrell was one of a kind, and during his 50 years on the
faculty he became, in many ways, synonymous with Brooklyn Law School,”
said Dean Nick Allard. “Stories about him from his legions of students,
fellow members of the faculty, and vast army of friends and Damon Runyonesque
characters in the community would fill many books on an entire library
shelf. I know that everyone in our extended Brooklyn Law School community
extends our deepest sympathy to his entire family.”
His influence extended beyond the law school’s halls, as a noted
lecturer to lawyers and judges on matters of evidence and New York civil
practice. For more than 40 years, he lectured in continuing legal education
programs throughout the state for the New York bench and bar. From 1977
to 1992, Farrell served as the reporter for the New York Pattern Jury
Instructions Committee. He was recognized for his longtime service to
the legal community with awards including the 2007 President’s Award
from the Catholic Lawyers Guild and the 2012 New York State Bar Association
Criminal Justice Section Award for Outstanding Contribution in the Field
of Criminal Law Education.
Farrell received his B.A. from St. John’s University and his L.L.B.
from Brooklyn Law School. While a student at the Law School, he served
as Editor in Chief of the
Brooklyn Law Review.
He is survived by his wife, Carol, his sons Christopher, Thomas, Richard
(Class of '92), and Sean.
Brooklyn Law School is establishing a scholarship fund to honor the memory
of Professor Farrell. All contributions may be sent to the Office of Development
at Brooklyn Law School or made online at
www.brooklaw.edu/give.